Inside the police bust targeting movers accused of scamming customers

The two men had avoided criminal charges for their alleged moving scam, even after years of customer complaints. But when they arrived at their Scarborough, Ont., business park in June, undercover police in more than a dozen vehicles were waiting.

The takedown was immediate.

In the weeks that followed, the charge sheet would grow to more than 800 counts, including fraud, theft and conspiracy, related to more than a dozen moving companies operated by the men that moved customers locally and across the country.

It is perhaps the largest ever prosecution of movers accused of scamming their customers. 

None of the allegations has been proven in court.

As Dogan Celik and Cemal Ozturk were led away in handcuffs, a CBC Marketplace team was watching. 

This is the story of how the case came together.

WATCH | Exclusive video shows alleged moving scammers arrested:

Complaints had been steady for years, to police, the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Protection Ontario and online reviews. 

But investigators suggest that when a moving company name became too problematic, the name would be changed. A reset of sorts to wipe the slate clean.

"The new company names that were created back in March of this year weren't on our radar," said Const. Chris Long of Toronto police. 

His investigation began soon after a Marketplace episode aired that looked into the same set of moving companies, but police say they were not aware of that episode until later in their own investigation.

The alleged scam uncovered by Marketplace appears to be identical to what police later found. It would begin with a customer being offered a quote or estimate based on what the movers described as an industry standard. On moving day, they had customers sign a new contract.

But "once that victim's property was en route to their destination, they were contacted by a representative of the company and told that they would have to pay much higher prices, sometimes in the range of 300 to 500 per cent of the original estimate," said Long.